by Jessica Lee
Eion sucked in a long breath. “I do too. I can see how much that means to you.”
“Yeah.” She sighed before she turned towards him and squared her shoulders. “So tell me some good news.” Liv gave him a tight smile. “How did the trip go?”
“Trip went fine. Uneventful. That’s the good news.” Eion faced the water, tossed his hat on the blanket, and stretched his legs out. “It was what happened after I got to my parents’ home that wasn’t a complete success.”
“Your father refuses to see your side about you and me?”
“For years he’s groomed me to take his place, and his son having a human female at his side was never part of the picture.” Eion filled her in on the details of their conversation, including the law’s origin against human mates, the risk of hybrids and their weaker DNA, and the pack’s fear of extermination. “In the end, my father reinforced his ultimatum. He has no intentions of capitulating.”
Liv stared back at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She’d been silent while he spilled everything about his visit to Screaming Eagle. Well…everything except the part about his run-in with Tawny. Liv didn’t need to hear about that small detail. Tawny had definitely meant to threaten, but Liv didn’t deserve any more stress on her plate. Eion would watch her back. He would die before he let something happen to her.
Finally, she spoke. “It breaks my heart that you have to be placed in this situation.” Her voice cracked. “It’s not fair.”
“I’ve discovered very little in life is, baby.” He reached over and cupped her chin, turning her face up to his. “You just have to choose the things that mean the most to you and hold onto them with everything you’ve got.”
Eion drew her closer and leaned in, sealing his lips over hers. He nudged her mouth open and dove inside. A groan erupted from his throat at the sensation, her flavor. He tore his mouth away and lowered his head to the column of her neck, struggling to control his impulse to take things much further.
“It’s pretty quiet out here,” he whispered next to her ear.
“Yeah. It is,” she said, her breathing coming in gasps. “The hands are branding the new cattle that were picked up at auction last week.”
“That’s right.” His pulse roared a staccato beat inside his head. Blood surged to his groin, setting up a steady throb that refused to be ignored. “I almost forgot. That should keep everyone very occupied for a few hours.” He nipped the soft flesh of her earlobe, wringing a small moan from her lips. Eion dropped his attention to her shoulders, kissing her there. Unable to resist, he followed the strap to her dress to where it tied at her nape.
Liv bolted from the blanket, heading straight for the stream.
“Hey!” he cried out and rolled back onto his palms. “What are you doing?” He chuckled.
“I wasn’t nearly finished here.” Liv whirled around, laughing, her dress fanning out around her, and faced him. Eion patted the warm spot on the blanket she’d left behind and smiled. She grinned in response and kicked off her shoes.
“Getting a little hot out here. Don’t you think?” She fanned herself. “Phew!”
“That, I can certainly agree with.” He sat forward and draped his arms over his knees. “Why don’t you come back over here? I have something that’ll take care of your symptoms.” He crooked a finger in her direction.
Liv back pedaled until her feet dipped into the water. “Why don’t you come and get me?” She winked. “I dare you, Eion Mandrake…” Liv added in a sing-song voice.
Eion rose from the blanket. His veins hummed. Liv took another two steps further out, the water coming up around her ankles.
“You dare me?” He tugged a corner of his mouth up into a grin. “I know you are not going there, Olivia Wilson.”
“I think I just did.” She cocked her head and wriggled her eyebrows. This time, Liv crooked her finger, beckoning him.
He advanced to the stream’s edge. “Don’t you remember how you never won all those dares?”
“Hmm…” She slowly shook her head. “That’s not quite how I remember it.”
“Oh, really?” Eion grabbed one boot, pulled it from his foot, and then the other before tossing them behind him. Oh, she was so going to get it.
“Oh, really,” she stated, her tone mocking.
In one quick move, he unzipped his pants and shoved them from his legs, leaving him in his boxer briefs. “I think someone is begging to be spanked for taunting their elders.”
She gasped. “I think someone just admitted to being an old man.”
“Okay, okay.” He nodded, putting on his best game face, as if he had no intention of coming after her. Liv kicked at the water, sending a spray of icy droplets in his direction.
“That does it.” Eion launched into the stream.
Liv squealed, spun, and darted downstream.
Water splashing up near his hips, Eion charged after her. He could have her in his arms in two seconds, but he let her take the lead, loving her playful side. A side he hadn’t seen since he’d returned, and a part of that was his fault. She glanced over her shoulder and laughed, holding her dress up as she surged through the shallow stream.
Suddenly, she stopped, whipped around, and doused him with a large wave. His breath hitched as the icy water flooded him from head to toe.
“Oh…you so do not play fair, woman,” he grumbled, flashing the tips of his canines for effect. Before she could respond, Eion leaped, landing directly in front of her, taking them both down into the stream.
“Oh, my God!” she cried out. “So cold!”
Eion brushed her damp tresses out of her face. “It is, isn’t it?” He chuckled.
“Yes!” She reached up and pushed the long strands of hair behind his ears, her expression sobering. “A part of me feels like such a selfish bitch, Eion.” He watched as she swallowed hard. “You stand to lose everything by being with me. But I just can’t help it. God, I want you so much.”
He couldn’t have stopped the growl that forced its way out of his lungs if he’d tried. Liv wanted him, and to hell with the world! She was his. Eion scooped her from the water, rose, and marched back toward the bank. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as if he were her hero. And damn if he didn’t want to be that for her.
Lowering her onto the blanket, Eion followed a trickle of water with his fingertip where it trailed down her neck and pooled at the hollow of her throat. “I want to lick every drop from your body,” he stated, his voice dipping to an edge that was less than human. She shivered, her nipples hard and tenting the cotton material draping her bust.
“Cold?” He rubbed the outside of her arms.
“Not in the least,” she whispered.
A rumble vibrated in his chest at her implication. He bent his head closer and traced her lips with his own. “Don’t ever think badly of yourself for how you feel,” he breathed against her mouth. “I love you, Olivia Wilson, and I don’t regret it.”
Her fingers found their way into his hair, holding him next to her. “I love you so much.” Her breath hitched. “I don’t think I can remember a time when I didn’t love you, Eion.”
He crushed his mouth to hers. She opened and he slipped inside. Their tongues dueled, danced, and when she stroked the roof of his mouth, the sensation arrowed straight to the tip of his cock. He groaned, and she arched into his chest.
Pulling away, he cursed under his breath. “I want you, baby. All of you.” Eion’s veins were on fire. Mine.
“I want you too.”
“No. You don’t understand.” He shook his head. “If we go any further, I don’t think I can hold back… Not this time.”
“What do you mean?” She braced her hands against his pecs, and her eyelids narrowed. “You’re so warm.”
“A symptom of our bond,” he said. “When I’m near you, I can’t help but want you, and my body sort of goes into overdrive. Once a bonded couple completes their mating, that will gradually dissipate.”
<
br /> “Completes it?” Her eyes crinkled with confusion.
“Remember the day we bonded at the lake?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Eion fisted the blanket beneath them. “That was more like a spiritual connection between us. That’s why I wasn’t sure how long or how deeply you’d be affected.”
“Okay…”
“What I’m feeling, what my body is demanding—and what I want so badly at this moment that I can barely breath—is to make you my mate. Body and soul.”
“Oh, Eion,” she whispered. “What would that mean? How?”
“Before, when we made love, I used a condom. That kept my seed from marking you internally with my scent. When I told you I needed you to take me from the top it’s because when I was buried inside you, I didn’t think I could restrain myself from marking you with my teeth. A sign to any other wolf that you belong to me.” His canines ached at the thought.
“If you mark me,” she licked her lips, “there would be no turning back for you with your pack, right?”
“You would be my mate for the rest of my life.” He nodded and ran his fingers along her cheek. “A part of me would exist in you till the end of our days. There are no divorces in my world, but it wouldn’t matter. I would never want another.”
“And for me?” She nibbled her bottom lip before continuing. “Would it change me?”
“I wasn’t sure how deeply the spiritual bond would affect you. But based on what you’ve said, you carried it with you as well. So I’m pretty sure you’d feel our connection strengthen.”
“To do this right here, right now, without any time to think it through is so unlike me. But I love you, Eion.” She cupped his face with both hands. “That will never die. So for me, there’s no decision to make. I’m already yours anyway, and I would be honored to be your mate.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. His chest hurt, her words stealing the air from his lungs.
She brushed her lips over his, the act kicking his diaphragm back into action. “But are you absolutely sure, my love, that doing this is worth the potential cost with your pack? Your alpha status? Will they take that away from you? I don’t want you to hate me one day if they won’t ever accept us.”
Eion opened his eyes. Sunlight sparkled off her shamrock gaze, melting him. Having to walk away from his pack was a very real threat. In fact, he wasn’t sure there was going to be any other way. The thought of giving up all he’d worked for his whole life, his family and his title was unsettling. It was difficult to wrap his mind around what he’d be without them. A wolf without a pack was like an existence without his right arm, but walking away from Liv…would be like cutting out his heart. One he could live without, the other would kill him.
“I could never hate you.” He shook his head. “But, believe me, nothing has ever been clearer. As long as I have you, I have everything I need.”
She smiled. “Then make love to me, my mate.” Liv pulled him down for another soul searing kiss, and his wolf howled.
Rearing up, Eion pulled his shirt over his head with one hand. Liv came forward, going straight for his brand, kissing the center, then lavishing the outline with her tongue. He tossed his head back and groaned under her attention. She pulled away after licking the image from end to end, and he lowered his chin.
“No matter what the meaning,” she grinned and tapped his brand, “this is damn sexy on you.”
“I am so damn glad you approve,” he stated, his voice turning to gravel.
She lifted her hair in invitation, and he slipped his hands around her neck before tugging the ties to her dress free. The material fell forward, and Eion captured her full breasts in his hands, the size nearly overfilling his palms. Liv leaned back on her elbows, and he couldn’t resist the succulent offering. He leaned down and drew one plump rosy nipple into his mouth. Liv moaned her approval. His erection pulsed behind its confines at the sound. God, he loved how she responded to his touch.
Using the flat part of his tongue, Eion licked around and then over the sensitive bud before returning to a gentle suck. Liv whimpered. He switched to her other breast, giving it the same attention. She splayed the fingers of one hand into his hair, pressing him down.
“Oh, my God.” She moaned. “I-I need you.” Her legs sawed next to him.
Without letting go, Eion slid one hand lower to her thigh. Despite their recent chilly dip, her flesh was warm to the touch. His palm roamed higher, taking the hem of her dress with it. He released her nipple with a gentle pop, and Liv grumbled at the loss.
“Shh… Open for me,” he said. Eion pressed against the inside of her thigh, and she did as instructed, spreading her legs. He found the elastic band of her panties. “Lift your hips.” She complied, and he yanked them free. Eion moved up once more for another sweet taste of her mouth as he eased his fingers between her folds and found her swollen bundle of nerves. She moaned against his lips and arched into his hand. “So damn sexy,” he whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said, her voice hoarse with desire.
Eion leaned back, regretting having to let her go for a second, to shove his underwear down and off his feet. “I’m sorry. I can’t wait to be inside you.” Resting on his knees, his erection rock hard, straining for release, he tugged Liv up from the blanket with his hand. “Straddle my thighs.” Liv positioned herself over him. “I’m too worked up to go easy, baby. This will work better for you at first.”
Eion gripped the base of his shaft, holding it at the right angle until the heated opening to her core engulfed the head. Slowly, she lowered over him. Pleasure arrowed up his spine and slammed into his brain.
“Oh, fuck!” Inch by burning-hot inch, she eased down. “You’re burning me alive, baby.” He gasped. Eion released his cock and wrapped his arms around her. Her bottom bumped his legs, and she trembled in his hold. “I’ve got you,” he growled.
“Eion…so good.”
“God, don’t I know it.” He gritted his teeth. She lifted, pulling up until the only part that remained inside was the crown before sliding back down. “That’s it,” he groaned. Eion braced his hands at her hips, surging up as she reversed her direction. Over and over they worked in sync, barreling him to the edge of control. But no way in hell was he going over before her. Sweat trickled between her breasts, and he lapped it up before seizing a nipple between his lips and sucking hard.
Liv cried out. “Eion!” Her body erupted in his arms, her core contracting along his shaft. Eion clamped down on his jaw, keeping a choke hold on his own orgasm. His gums throbbed from the pressure of his lengthening canines. Liv’s tremors slowed, and her body relaxed in his arms.
“Turn around, baby,” he whispered at her ear.
Liv lifted her head and blinked. “Okay.” She lifted her hips, allowing his shaft to slip free while Eion seized the blanket beneath him, the torture exquisite along his nerve endings. She rotated on her knees. He quickly rose, putting himself behind her, and kneeled. Placing his palm between her shoulders, he pressed her forward onto all fours. His heart pounded. Eion rubbed his hands over her buttocks, hypnotized by the sight of her submission, the scent of their combined arousal.
“So beautiful. God, you’re so damn beautiful.” He rose and fisted his shaft. “I don’t want to hurt you. Tell me if I’m hurting you.” Eion ran his hand up her spine.
“You’re not going to hurt me.” She shook her head and glanced back. “Do it.”
Eion placed the head at her opening and slid home. Fire lit up every nerve ending along his shaft. Nothing between them. He couldn’t hold back. Eion growled, releasing his hold on the primal beast inside. Claim. Mark.
Mine.
The words roared inside his skull.
His vision sharpened. Sounds revved to full volume.
Small explosions detonated at the base of his spine, his release imminent.
Liv. She wanted him. No more denial. No more waiting.
He’d taken flight—soa
ring on the cusp of rapture.
His pulse machine-gunned in his ears.
Eion wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, pumping inside her.
Her head tilted, and she brushed her hair aside, displaying the long column of her throat and smooth slope of her shoulder. His mouth watered, and he leaned in, breathing in the sweet and tangy scent that was uniquely his mate. He opened wide, scoring the dip where her shoulder and neck met with the sharp edge of his teeth. His body screamed for release. Screamed to make her his. Now!
“Liv?” Her name rumbled off his vocal chords, a blend of human mixed with the beast clawing for her beneath the surface.
“I want this,” she said sighing. “I want you. Love you.”
Love you.
His canines sank into her flesh, ripping the orgasm from his shaft.
Chapter Twenty
Olivia slipped back inside her house through the back door. The sun had set, and she’d been gone the entire day since riding out that morning on Jack. Eion had asked her to come home with him, and she couldn’t refuse. How could she? She was his mate now, and the man was totally addictive.
On bare feet, she padded through the kitchen, clutching one of Eion’s oversized sweaters around her shoulders to combat the cool night air and to cover the evidence of his bite. If Kris was already in bed she didn’t want to wake him.
“I was about to come looking for you.”
She froze halfway across the wood floor. Nope. He wasn’t asleep.
Olivia followed the sound of his voice and found him sitting in the living room, the lights off. “What are you doing in here in the dark?” She reached over and clicked on a lamp, flooding the small space with a soft glow.
